Can-opening funnel



June 1, 1937; c. F. BERTscHINGER 2,082,094

CAN OPENING FUNNEL Filed July 17, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 1, 1937. N c. F. BERTS CHlN GE R 2,082,094

CAN OPENING FUNNEL FiledJuly 17, 1933 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented June 1, 1937 UNITED STATES CAN -OPENING FUNNEL Charles F. Bertschinger, Rosedale, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, of three-fourths to Tide Water Associated Oil Company,

New

York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 17, 1933, Serial No. 680,805 9 Claims. (Cl. 221-23) opening devices which cut'or puncture the ends,

of cans do not prevent refilling, because cheap 10 apparatus is available with which new ends or heads can be applied to branded can bodies. It

is a feature of this invention that the exit opening is cut in the side of the can.

A furtherpbject of the invention is to provide 15 an article with which the can is opened by leverage, either the can or the article serving as the lever, the article itself requiring no moving parts.

, Another object of the invention is to provide an article which catches liquid that would other- 20 wise drip after a can has been emptied and which delivers this residual liquid with the contents discharged from the next can that is opened.

The article comprises a tube, a knife and a fulcrum, all rigidly connected, the relations being 25 such that the fulcrum is engaged byv the rim of the can, after which by relative tilting move ment the side of the can is forced over the knife, or the knife is forced into the can. Means are present whereby the can, when opened, is supported in an inclined position over' the top of the tube, while its contents pour into and through the tube. A pocket is also provided for retaining liquid that adheres to the interior of the tube and would otherwise drip when the article is set 35 aside after use, this'pocket being arranged to receive such liquid'when the article is disposed with the lower end of the tube higher than the upper end. I

In the accompanying drawings, forming part 40 hereof:

' Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the article, showing a can in position to be opened?- Fig. 2 is a similar view,'but in vertical section and showing the can, in dotted lines, in the rela- 45 tive position which it occupies when the can is opened;

Fig. 3 is' a front elevation of the article; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the article in the position in which it is suspended when not in 5 use, a portion being broken away and sectioned to show liquid retained in the drip pocket;

Fig. is a top plan view of the article; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a can, showing the opening cut in its side immediately adjacent 5 one end.

The body of the article consists of a tube 2, which is preferably larger at the top than at the bottom, after the manner of a funnel, though that is not necessarily essential. A knife 3 projects upward, and somewhat forward, from the 5 top of the tube or funnel, this knife being preferably disposed within but toward the front of the funnel and having a shank 4 which is fixed to the front wall of the tube by screws 5, which permit the knife to be removed. The knife has 10 a forwardly directed puncturing point 6, from which cutting edges 1 diverge and then extend downward along the side edges of the knife.

On the front of the knife, just above thefront of the top of the funnel, there is a hooked lug 8, so formed and positioned that the rim 9 of a can l0 may be engaged with it as shown in Fig.

1. This lug constitutes a fulcrum, on which the can may be tilted rearward with sufficient force to cause the knifeto penetrate and cut the side wall of the can. The resulting broad opening ll extends to the end wall or head I! of the can,

so that no liquid is trapped in the can. The tongue l3 cut from the side of the can folds against the inside of the can end.

The top "of the funnel is inclined, that is to say the back is higher than the front, so that when the can is forced as far as it is permitted, it is supported in the inclined position shown in Fig. 2, with its side containing the opening ll sloping downward and forward, in consequence of which all liquid in the can is discharged through the opening into the funnel. For better support of the can in this .position, a troughed rest it is united or formed with the top of the funnel, extending upward and rearward. A further feature of the device is that it enables the user to control the speed of flow of liquid from the can by varying the anglebetween the can and the knife, after the opening has been cut 40 in the can and the contents are discharging. Thus, if more rapid emptying is desired, thecan may be moved on the fulcrum to a steeper inclination than that'shown in Fig'. 2, thus hastening the outflow of the liquid, or of the latter portion of the contents.

On the front of the funnel there is a. hanging ring I 5, so positioned with respect to the center of gravity of the article that, when. the article ishung up by this ring, as shown-in Fig. 4, the lower end of the tube or funnel is higher than the upper end. To catch the oil or other liquid which clings to the inside of the tube and which would otherwise give an objectionable drip, a.

pocket It is provided in therear upper portion with the opening cut in its upper side.

of the article. This pocket is preferably formed between the back portion of the funnel and an overhanging wall I! united or formed with the rest H, but the precise construction may be varied. When the article is used with another can, the small amount of liquid that was held in this pocket flows out through the tube with the contents of the can.

As the operation of opening thecan has been described and is illustrated, the funnel is held vertical and the can is tilted. This is the manner in which the operation is performed if the tube is in or over the breather opening of a. crankcase, or the opening of any receptacle into which the contents of the can are to be introduced. If that operation should not be convenient, the can may be opened, by moving either the can or the can opening funnel from the relative positions of Fig. 1 to the relative positions of Fig. 2, while they are so disposed in space that in the condition shown in Fig. 2 the can will be horizontal, The can and funnel may then be carried in this position, without spilling the contents, to the crank-case, where the can and funnel may be inverted and the end of the fu el inserted in the breather opening.

It will be evident that the opening of a can a and the delivery of its contents into a receptacle are quickly and easily accomplished, and that the article is one that can be manufactured at low cost. The fact that the opening is made in the side of the can makes fraudulent re-fllling of the can impossible. For this reason the article is particularly useful in connection with the sale 0d branded oil or other commodity from a sealed can. Another advantage of the inven- 1 tion is that the same article will open and receive the contents of cans of I claim: 1. An article for opening a can and directing its contents, comprising a tube, a knife rigidly widely varying sizes.

can and the article.

2. An article for opening a can and directing its contents, comprising a tube, a knife rigidly securedto the tube and projecting from the reand adapted to be engaged by the rim of the can, and means forming a pocket to retain liquid that would otherwise drip, when the article is disposed with the lower end of the tube higher than the upper end.

3. An article for opening a can and directing its contents, comprising a tube, a knife rigidly secured to the tube and projecting from'the receivingend thereof and adapted to cut an open -means at the top ing in the side of the can at one end, a fulcrum rigidly fixed adjacent and in front of the knife and adapted to be engaged by the rim of the can, means forming a pocket to retain liquid that would otherwise drip, when the article is disposed with the lower end of the tube higher than the upper end, and means on the article for suspending it in such position when not in use.

4. An article for opening a can and directing its contents, comprising a tube, a knife rigidly secured to the tube and projecting from the receiving end thereof and adapted to cut an opening in the side of the can at one end, a fulcrum rigidly fixed adjacent and in front of the knife and adapted to be engaged by the rim of the can, of the tube for supporting the can at an inclination relative to the tube when the opening has been cut as the result of relative tilting movement between the can and the article, and means forming a pocket to retain liquid that would otherwise drip, when the article is disposed in such position that liquid clinging to the inside of the tube drains backward in the tube away from the discharge end.

5. A can-opening spout or funnel article, comprising a tube, a

to be engaged by the rim of a can and the rela tions being such that' by relative tilting movement between the can and the unit an opening is cut in the can.

6. YA can-opening spout or funnel article, comprising a tube, a knife and a fulcrumi all rigidly connected as a unit, said fulcrum being adapted to be engaged by the rim of a can and the relations being such that by relative tilting movement between the can and the unit an opening is out in the can, the top of the article having a support for the opened can disposed at an inclination to the tube.

'7. A combination prising a tube, a knife attached to said tube and projecting at the top thereof for cutting the side of a can, said knife being a blade having a puncturing point and lateral cutting edges and adapted to out an opening in the side-of the can and to fold a resulting tongue inward toward the head of the can, and a fulcrum firmly supported adjacent the knife and adapted to be engaged by the rim of'the can.

8. A combination can-opener and spout comprising a tube, a knife projecting at the top of the tube, and a fulcrum adjacent said knife, said knife and fulcrum being firmly supported by the tube in such relation that the rim of a can may be engaged with said fulcrum and the side of the can may be forced over the knife by using the can as a lever. I

9. In a combination can-opener and spout, a tube open at both ends,- a knife attached to the tube at the top thereof for puncturing the side of a can, and a fulcrum fixed adjacent said knife and adapted to be engaged by the rim of the can, the speed of flow of liquid from the can being controlled by varying the angle of the can with respect to the knife. v

CHARLES F. BERTSCHINGER.

knife and a fulcrum, all rigidly connected as a unit, said fulcrum being adapted can-opener and spout, com- 

